Bank holiday weekend update (25-28th Aug 06)

I'm not sure I'll manage as sterling a job as Soph with the blog update this week but am going to give it my best shot! Sad individual that I am I made some notes each day which I saved into my mobile (basically cheated! so I would remember everything that happened :)))

Myself and Soph received SMS messages from Jayne in the early hours of Saturday morning (3am) informing us that Charlotte had, had a seizure. Post a frantic phone call at 9.30am we raced over to the hospital arriving about 11.30am.

Charlotte had been experiencing really bad headaches and was incredibly itchy and irratable, the doctors were unsure at this time whether she had contracted the bacterial meningitis or she was having a reaction to the anti-sickness drugs.

Her sheet change mid afternoon was a scary experience as Charlotte was struggling to breathe and couldnt take down sufficient of the gas and air, as such she was in incredibly pain and started to go bright red and then very grey, she had another fit whilst they changed her. Her stats were all over the place and the doctor took the call to continue on and post the sheet change they sat her up (well as much as they can in a silicon bath) and her breathing appeared to improve - although it was still very shallow.

We had another scare later in the evening over a couple of hour period between 9pm and 11pm. Charlotte really couldn't breathe properly at all and she got incredibly terrified and it became a catch 22, the more she panicked the worse her breathing got, it was terrifying for us, so god only knows what it must have been like for her! We also had to deal with a huge shortage of experienced nurses over the weekend period - thank god Jayne was in with her as well, as Charlotte puts it so eloquently, I am a real 'pussy' in those situations!! An hour or so later the same thing happened again and Charlotte has spent the remainder of the weekend permanently with an oxygen mask clamped to her face. The hospital ran another chest x-ray post the second episode and they realised that the build of of fluid on her left lung was increasing.

Yesterday (Sunday) Charlotte wasn't feeling well again, the combintaion of being in hospital for weeks, in constant pain and now feeling sick with a mask on her face adding to the situation must be totally cracking her up!! The nurse I spoke to today seemed more adamant that it was Meningitis than a reaction to the anti-sickness drugs but as they arn't sure they need to keep trying to cover both options :(

Jayne was up with Charlotte a couple of times during the night and I left Jayne and Charlotte catching up on some sleep when I left about 1.30am today. Rugger knackered out from a pretty intense physio session and a massage of her legs which was obviously excruciatingly painful, Jayne because its incredibly hard to be at the hospital and not to want to be in with Charlotte and as nice as the staff are the place has a hideous way of swallowing you up and zapping you of all your energy! I could literlly feel myself begin to get re-charged as we hit the North Circ on the way home.....................

Hope you have a better week than weekend girls!!

My love to you both

Rach xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx